July 1, 2010

It starts with a glimmer of anticipation deep in the back of the pre-adolescent boy's mind in early June. By late June, it's a burning coal that keeps growing until only one week is left and the countdown begins, then it bursts into flame and consumes him. No, we aren't talking about girls (that comes later on!) We are talking Fireworks. As in the FOURTH - Independence Day - one of the Big Three holidays of the kid year that takes a back seat to NO other day... short of your own birthday of course :)

No sooner were the tent stakes pounded in the ground than I would hop on my Stingray and pedal down the street, take a right and speed halfway across the neighborhood to the closest fireworks stand and spend every penny I could pack into both front pockets of my cut-offs.

Once back home I'd light my punk over the kitchen stove, then dutifully take up residence on the front steps of our home for the next four days straight. Those days were filled with dreaming up all kinds of new imaginative ways to light off a ladyfinger in the mailbox or perfecting the aim of a pop bottle rocket so that it could reach the very edge of space (at least I thought it did).

Yep, in my mind the Fourth of July was the best day of the year... even better than my own birthday!

8 comments:

Every time I see someone make a post about something I know I have, but am not sure where it is, it makes me want to go find it.

Such is the case with your fireworks.

Pyro brother had some in a shoe box somewhere. Looks like the same stuff. Now, question is, did he come and get those a few years ago, or are they sitting there in that shoe box out in the shed, waiting for me to find them? =O

It's going to be Junior's 10th lesson in the ways of fire gods this year (geesh, how time flies)... and he's gotten big enough to shrug off punk burns and spark stings... a long ways from hiding behind the protection of the front screen door! I may have to fight him off so that I get to light a few this time :P

And what fun is a Fourth unless you can blow off a few spare body parts?? ...Oh, the stories I could tell.

Oh, btw... most of these fireworks were from my brother's stash too. He'd given them to me when I was maybe 7 or 8.

The pop bottle rockets have tape on them because I'd gotten the terrific idea of attaching all the "motors" to a rocket body I made out of paper and tape. My plan was to light all 12 motors off at once. More bang = more fun!

Obviously I wasn't smart enough to figure out how to light off my invention after building the thing LoL